HONG KONG  Firefighters used helicopters and several dinghies
to save at least 12 people stranded by floods caused by torrential rain Saturday.

The rescue workers lifted nine people trapped on rooftops in a village in
the northern suburbs and saved three workers from another village.

A government spokesman said there had been reports of 23 flooding cases,
but none had caused serious injuries. The pouring rain forced the closure
of schools.

firefighters waded through chest-deep water to reach the stranded villagers,
mostly women and elderly people. Rainwater failed to drain from low-lying
areas and dozens of people were evacuated from several villages.

"We're in big trouble tonight. We don't even know where to stay," said one
villager, who only gave his surname as Wan, on television.

The Hong Kong Observatory recorded rainfall of more than 80 inches
in the worst-hit rural areas.

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